


Growth

by aliceybalicey



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Blupjeans love, Familial Love, Family, Family Feels, Love, Lucretia is a sassy mf who judges everyone, Other, Strangers to friends to family, The Stolen Century, This is all told from Lucretia's point of view, blupjeans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 09:43:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15192080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aliceybalicey/pseuds/aliceybalicey
Summary: Lucretia's notes on the hundred years on the Starblaster; or, the progression of strangers, to friends, to family.





	1. Day One

Name: Lucretia Millicent  
Date: 01/05/1899

Met the other workers of the IPRE interplanetary mission today. I, myself, have been selected since the beginning, but today we officially received our badges, uniforms, and information packets. I was selected and hired by Drew Davenport, our leader and captain. I may or may not have forced myself into his employ.

By forced, I mean I stormed his office and drank his coffee. I took him by surprise while he was at his desk. I had to prepare myself beforehand, granted, but I ended up coming in with my portfolio under one arm. I slapped it down onto his desk as hard as I could, grabbed his mug (white, porcelain, full of black coffee) and threw it back, despite the fact that it was hot coffee, not at all cooled, and not at all the type of coffee I enjoy.  
"It's pretty damn weak, Captain," I informed him, dropping his (now empty) mug onto the desk, and then I walked away. My heart was pounding after, and I nearly collapsed when I was called to his office the next day, but he gave me the job. I think he liked the spunk of it all. I won't be doing it again, however.

In my defense, I really wanted this job.

I was introduced to the other members of our expedition slowly. First was Merle Highchurch. Dwarf, older, with a white beard and kind eyes. Mildly inappropriate but nothing I haven't heard before, although I won't encourage him. He's one of our more talented Clerics who applied. 

I was called into Davenport's office and found the two of them arguing about the amount of potting soil Merle was allowed to bring on the journey. Merle was asking for twenty pounds. Davenport was insisting that no potting soil was going to be on his ship. They wanted my opinion. I agree with the Captain.  
High suspicions that Merle will sneak some onto the ship anyways. 

Second were the twins, Lup and Taako Taaco. High elves. Perhaps in their early hundreds. I don't like them. They're loud and overly confident, in my opinion. Granted, this isn't meant to be a log of my opinions. Apparently they did something similar to me, in that they snuck into the institute and wouldn't leave until they spoke with Davenport. I wasn't allowed into the meeting but according to our Captain, they were very persuasive. I also noticed an empty plate on his desk with crumbs. Bribery suspected.

Third, Magnus Burnsides. Twenty years old, 6'4, looks like he could take on a truck easily. He didn't even apply. He actually didn't go to the institute at all; he was sought out. According to Davenport, he had found the boy breaking up a fight (I say boy, but really he's only a year younger than me). When I was called to meet the man, he greeted me with an unexpected hug. It was a nice hug, but I think I'm okay without them. 

Sildar Hallwinter (Or, as he is better known, Barry) was the final member selected as our scientist. Very nervous man. Likes comfortable clothing and won't make eye contact. My meeting with him was swift and very brief, very professional. His palm was slightly sweaty, I imagine, from nerves. I think he's going to be fine. 

Had our final press conference at around noon in front of the Starblaster. I helped come up with the name. I think it's nice. We answered questions from precisely 12:01 to 12:25. Lup got reprimanded afterwards for damaging equipment. I thought it was funny. 

Afterwards I was pressured into going out with everyone. I didn't necessarily want to but Davenport insisted that bonding was important to keep the ship running. Here are my notes from our venture out:

9:04 pm: At a bar.  
9:07 pm: Ordered a water with lemon. Taako and Lup are playing pool. Magnus is downing whiskey like his life depends on it. Merle got a fizzy green drink, Davenport a water, Barry a beer.  
9:09 pm: Larger man upset that I'm writing. Why on earth is he upset that I'm writing?  
9:10 pm: Magnus tackled the man. Classic.  
9:14 pm: Merle pushed me behind a counter so I wouldn't get hurt. That was nice of him. Still not enjoying the fight, though.  
9:16 pm: (unintelligible)  
9:45 pm: Magnus and Merle are injured; black eye and cut respectively. Lup and Taako took a man's shoes in a hustle. Davenport extremely disappointed in our maturity. My favorite pen broke. 

Tomorrow morning we will be briefed, and we will takeoff. Davenport asked me if I'm nervous and I didn't know how to respond. I'm always nervous, but I don't know if it's from the mission or not. 

End log.


	2. Starting Out.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The send off of the IPRE mission, and Year One.

Name: Lucretia Millicent.

Date: 01/06/1899

Time: 8:30 am

 

This robe is vaguely itchy. I may switch to the jacket. 

We were woken at 6:30 this morning by our Captain, who, by my calculations, has been up since at least 4:00 am. I think he's nervous; the last fifty years of his life have been leading up to this moment, after all. 

We are currently in a waiting room of sorts. We had a sort of breakfast pizza and cookies to celebrate our takeoff. Magnus drank almost all of the prepared coffee. Lup is currently cursing him out for it. 

"You could have saved some for me," She says, and he looks up at her awkwardly, still drinking out of his mug which holds the last of the coffee. "Now I'm going to have a headache on the way there."   
"It's not my fault I'm hung over," Magnus is grumbling. He looks like hell. This is exactly how I wanted to start this adventure off; a hungover crew and an overexcited captain. 

Merle doesn't heal Magnus. Just gives him an ice pack. I have a feeling that this is how our healthcare system will be for the next four months. 

* * *

 

Time: 9:45 am

 

Our home is gone. 

* * *

 

Time: 10:30 am

I will do my best to explain the events of the past two hours. 

After Magnus drank all of the coffee and Lup took a few painkillers, Captain Davenport came in. It was barely past 8:30. 

"A storm's coming on, we need to go now," He urged us. "Before it gets bad enough that even I can't fly." So we hurried. We were lucky that we had already stocked the Starblaster; we only had to grab the clothing that we had shed, and the small things we had remembered to bring with us, and get on the ship. There was a small crowd to see us off, but the air was so still and the storm so dark that no one was very excited. We were all just nervous to leave before the storm hit.

I looked out on my planet for the final time before we left. I couldn't see much, mostly cement, but the Institute did have a field with trees. A small grove. I wanted to look at our nature one more time, keep the memory of our home planet in my head to look back on during these four months, but there was something wrong with the trees, and with the last hints of blue in the sky, and the grass. It's hard to explain, but it all looked gray. The color was sucked out of the trees and everything was sepia toned. I wondered if there was something wrong with my eyes but when I looked at my coworkers, the red of our garments was as bright as ever. The only color in a now gray world. 

We took off just as the sky went dark, and we all got comfortable as Davenport guided our ship off our plane and into the clouds. All of us, except Lup. Lup stayed at the window of the bay, the large glass window that looked out and acted as our windshield. She was staring at the storm. 

"What's up, Lup?" Taako asked lazily, flopping into a chair. "What're you looking at?"

"I've never seen a storm like this," She said slowly. Barry got up to look too, and he was also transfixed, so I looked as well. The storm was inky black, cracks of bright colored light shining through. We could see the edges of our plane as we got further and further out into space, but soon it was hidden under this dark well of what looked like cracked opal. 

Davenport saw it too. He turned the ship around momentarily and we all watched in confused silence as this huge mass hid our world from view. Then he turned to his radio. "IPRE homebase, come in," He said, speaking into the microphone. Static answered him. "IPRE, is anyone there?"

"Try a different frequency," Merle said, and the worry was transparent in his voice. He got up to look at the radio channels, turning the dial to try and get a signal.

Taako got up and stood beside Lup. Their hands gravitated towards each other and their fingers intertwined automatically. 

"I'm just going to..I'm going to keep going," Davenport said quietly, and the ship continued to move away from that blackness. I felt like screaming. 

And then I did scream. All of us did. Infinite versions of us screamed as we were pulled apart at the seams. My first thought was if we lost control of the ship and I tried to lunge towards the control panel but I couldn't move. Bright white light surrounded us, pulling us in with ropes that burned.

And then we were normal again. I was standing, half cocked towards the controls. All of us collapsed at once; even Davenport sagged in his chair for a moment before the ship lurched and he jolted to correct it. 

"Uh, hey, guys," Taako said, picking himself off the floor. "What the fuck?"

"The...whatever it is...it's gone," Davenport breathed. "We should go back to our plane. Make sure everyone's alright." And he turned the ship until he could see our plane. Merle was still trying to get a signal, and for awhile the only sound was the constant static.

As the details of this plane came into view, Magnus furrowed his brow. "I'm pretty sure that's not ours, guys." 

And he was right. It wasn't our plane. 

We don't know where we are. 

* * *

 

Date: 01/08/1899

Time: 3:00 pm 

I'm allergic to fur. I don't think anyone has bothered to realize that I'm allergic to fur. I've been called a sourpuss more times than I can count in the past two hours. 

This entire planet is inhabited by animals, as far as we can tell. We just now found a place to touch down; we've been flying around for awhile, just trying to get a feel for what this world is. And it's all animals. No humanoids; no gnomes, or elves, or humans. Just animals. My nose is itching just thinking about it. It looks like it's a peaceful world; at first we were concerned about touching down, if we'd get eaten by wolves or bears, but we've discovered that the creatures here all live in peace.

Magnus is absolutely over the moon. We're all sad, of course, and confused that our home is missing, but for what he can manage, Magnus's mind is on cuddling and cuddling alone. 

We touched down this morning in a shaded field near one of the animal's settlements. They have ways of trading, of communicating. They're more intelligent than the animals on our home plane. 

The reason we touched down is because yesterday, we saw the Light of Creation fall from the sky and land somewhere on this plane, and Lup threw a fit. 

"We have to go get it," She said, pacing the cabin. Davenport stood, watching her pace, arms crossed. "We have to! It's the fucking Light. IPRE took so long trying to find it, I read the papers, it took so much, we can't just - just leave it here!" 

"We can't leave this planetary system even if we tried," Taako drawled. He was filing his nails in an armchair, legs thrown over the side. "We already tried, we can't get through the way we came."

"If our home plane is gone, maybe we can use the Light of Creation to bring it back, Dav," Lup urged, and that seemed to soften Davenport's stony expression. He finally sighed, and nodded. 

"But once we find triangulate its location, the rest of the time is spent figuring out how to get it and get out of here," He warned, and with a toothy grin Lup grabbed ahold of the Starblaster's wheel. 

A day later, bright white eyes covered the sky for a moment and we all prepared for a fight. None came. It was a difficult day for all of us. Honestly, we're all still on edge. Waiting. 

Taako, Lup, and Barry immediately left the ship. They're curious people, eager to get out there and see what's happening. Lup is still hellbent on finding the Light, and Merle is pretty interested as well. Davenport and I think we'll stay with the ship. 

I'm tired of Taako calling me a sourpuss. I'm  _allergic._

* * *

 

Date: 04/23/1899

Time: 9:45 pm

I haven't written anything in awhile, mostly because it's been boring around here stuck in the Starblaster. I've gone out a few times to document the flora and fauna but if I stay out for too long I start sneezing and Magnus makes fun of me. 

Lup, Barry, and Taako have started grunting at each other. I can't even try and phonetically write it on paper. It's exhausting to listen to them. 

Merle and Davenport left a couple months ago to figure out where the Light's at, and they discovered that it was being held by this council of animals. A bear, an owl, and a wolf. As soon as Magnus heard about the bear he decided he wanted to fight it. 

Magnus is ridiculous, but he is good company. I spot him sometimes when he's working out, but mostly when I see him we just relax a little bit together. We make lunches sometimes while Taako and Lup are out. I'm not the best cook, and neither is he, but we manage grilled cheese and soup sometimes. Taako yelled at us the first time we left the dishes in the sink, so now we do the dishes when we're done. 

"Hey, Creesh," Magnus said to me today. I was washing, he was drying. I hate that nickname but it's been months and he won't stop. 

"Yes, Magnus?"

"Do you think our home's still out there?" He set a dish in the cabinet and I stopped washing for a moment. How was I supposed to respond to that?

"I hope so," I said finally, and forced myself to keep going with the plate I had in my hands. I offered it to him. 

"Me, too." He took the plate from me. "But hey, you know, I'm enjoying this time we're all getting," He continued, and I could tell he was just trying to keep upbeat about the whole thing. Magnus confuses me sometimes with how positive he can be. How can a person who watched his home get destroyed be as jovial as he is? "Even though I'm running out of hard candy. I think that this is a really fun time. It's like a little vacation, if you can think about it that way."

I'm going to try to think about it that way. A vacation. That's all this is. We finished the dishes smiling, even if mine was a little forced. 

A vacation. That's all. 

 

* * *

 

Date: 11/03/1899

Time: 10:05 am

Magnus is going to fucking fight the Bear. What an absolute idiot. 

* * *

Date: 01/07/1900

Time: 3:00 pm

The planetary system is gone. The one with the animals. It's gone, and it took Magnus with them, and Magnus is  _gone._ Why is this happening to us?

* * *

Date: 01/07/1900

Time: 8:30 pm

Taako thinks we can't die now. Or, at least, if we die, we come back.

That darkness took over again. It sucked the color from the world and then pillars of it crashed down and destroyed everything. It destroyed Magnus, too. Davenport made the choice to leave him behind after he ran off to protect some bear cubs. 

"What the  _fuck_ are you doing?" Lup screamed at him, trying to take the wheel, and he pushed her away. 

"I don't have a choice!" He yelled back. His voice broke. He sped us out of the planetary system, dodging pillars of darkness, and we watched helplessly as it swallowed that world we had made our temporary home, and it swallowed Magnus, our fighter and protector.

We were torn apart again. Blinding light and pain, and I felt the floor of the Starblaster drag under my feet as I shifted to a new position. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing it to go away. 

When the light dimmed and the pain ended, I opened my eyes and Magnus was standing in front of me, stunned. A black eye. His jacket, which he hadn't worn in at least four months, open and exposing a bare chest that lacked the scars I remember him receiving. 

We all collapsed but wasted no time in getting up. Lup tackled Magnus in a hug, then moved back and hit him in the shoulder. "What the fuck! What the fuck, dude?" She exclaimed. He stared at her, eyes wide.

"I was  _dead._ "

We took our time to recover, making our theories, and after awhile, a new plane came into view. This one was different than the last, we didn't need to see it; we just knew, somehow. Davenport, however, stopped the ship in the vacuum of space, let us all relax and recover and hug Magnus before we were thrown into something completely new. Right now, even, as I'm about to go to bed, we've fallen into an orbit around this plane. I think we're going to stay here for awhile. 

A year has gone by since the beginning of what was supposed to be a four month voyage, and I'm more terrified than I've ever been.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to do my best to update at least once a week, if not twice. That way I can get through as much as I can. Please let me know if I miss or forget anything, or if you have an idea of a small short I can do. Thank you!


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